Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and the related disorders are subsumed under chronic psychiatric disorders which are of psychosocial and therapeutic importance. In most studies, the mean age of onset of significant OCD symptoms is adolescence period. The aim of this study was to evaluate OCD symptoms, Tic disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Trichotilomania amon...

BACKGROUND School visits to farms are a positive educational experience but pose risks due to the spread of zoonotic infections. A lesson plan to raise awareness about microbes on the farm and preventative behaviours was developed in response to the Griffin Investigation into the E. coli outbreak associated with Godstone Farm in 2009. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the delivery of th...

OBJECTIVES To compare the levels of blood pressure (BP) between male and female adolescents in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and reference percentiles for Saudi adolescents. A secondary aim was to explore the distribution of BP among the participants based on age and gender.   METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted among 146 boys and girls attending intermediate  and secondar...

AIMS To study the reliability of adolescents' self-reported drinking and perceived drunkenness in surveys. METHODS The data from two cross-sectional school-based questionnaire surveys with representative cluster samples (the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, ESPAD) in Finland were used; there were 2161 (1995) and 3109 (1999) 15-year-old respondents. The response rates...

Policy-makers have cited menstruation and lack of sanitary products as barriers to girls’ schooling. We evaluate these claims using a randomized evaluation of sanitary products provision to girls in Nepal. We report two findings. First, menstruation has a very small impact on school attendance: we estimate that girls miss a total of 0.4 days in a 180 day school year. Second, improved sanitary t...